Sen. Jacky Rosen recently criticized the use of approximately $300 million in taxpayer funds for a White House ballroom project, arguing that the money could have been better spent on priorities here in Nevada.
Reasonable people can debate whether that project was a wise use of public funds. What I find troubling is the selective outrage that often surrounds government spending.
Much of the effort to build the ballroom has been privately funded, just as the Obama Presidential Center itself was largely privately funded. Yet taxpayers still contributed to costs associated with both projects. In Chicago, more than $100 million in public infrastructure improvements were made in connection with the Obama Presidential Center. I don’t recall hearing the same level of concern from many of today’s critics.
Spending of taxpayer dollars should be scrutinized regardless of whether the project is connected to Donald Trump, Barack Obama, a Republican or a Democrat. The standard should be the same for everyone.
Nevadans deserve elected officials who evaluate spending based on its merits and costs, not on the political party or public figure attached to the project. Is applying the same standard to everyone really too much to ask?
